Life's litte Troubles
by thewizardanthedragon
Summary: CJ is a freshman in High School. Life as a teen is not an easy trip. CJ tries to make her way through as best she can. Mild Language may be present.
1. Chapter 1

Summer was a great time for CJ as she was able to occupy her time with whatever she felt like and had very little responsibilities. She had the few chores extra around the house but as it was she could spend her days on the bike trails with Steven and sit in the park reading or talking. As far as her parents were concerned it was actually one of the slowest summers on record since they started working at NCIS and so she saw them much more often than usual. Sometimes this was good thing but occasionally throughout the summer it caused added tension as their presence put a cramp in her plans.

The beginning of CJ's freshman year loomed every nearer. Parents and daughter were nervous for differing reasons but the overall tension built over the summer and finally exploded in a three way verbal argument that ended with CJ storming out of the house going to look for Steven, Ziva marching off to their bedroom and slamming the door and Tony driving off to Gibbs' place. The topic of the argument meant very little it was more the difference in each person's view of what level of independence CJ had acquire, required and was taking.

CJ felt that she was old enough to make all school decisions as it was her education and she was the one that had to ultimately do the work. Ziva felt that as parents they should have some input into her classes as they were adults and understood the implications of the decisions better than a 14 year old. Tony thought CJ was making decisions that were reasonable but was being stubborn and pig headed when they were making suggestions and giving her their opinion on the subject.

And so as the deadline for course selection quickly approached the family was literally scattered across the city.

Tony entered Gibb's house and made his way to the basement without hesitation. He didn't wait for an invitation into the workshop but made his way down the stairs and sat on the second to last step waiting for Gibbs to invite the conversation to begin. Jethro continued cutting and let Tony sit quietly until he had finished. Moving onto measuring and studying the plans he finally asked "What's she done now?"

Tony smiled and half laughed to himself. He really didn't show up on Gibb's step anymore unless he had issues with his daughter. All his work related questions and frustrations were talked out with Jimmy, Ziva , Abby or even Tim. But Gibbs' was his go to guy when it came to daughter problems.

"Nothing really" he sighed rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hands "I think it might be us" pausing again "We might be the problem".

Gibbs kept working looking to Tony only to encourage him to continue. "Maybe I should start at the beginning."

"That's a good place to start" Gibbs offered.

"You see CJ starts high school this year and course selection is due on Monday. CJ picked courses and because she is a freshman the form requires a parental signature. She brought the form to us at supper tonight and asked for one of us to sign it. Ziva didn't sign it right away and said she wanted to review CJ's choices. CJ was offended that Ziva didn't trust her decisions and well things kind of blew up and we all stormed away from the table. I think the dishes and food is still all over the dining room."

"Mmmm"

"CJ had made fine choices and it wasn't that Ziva thought she hadn't it was just that she actually wanted to check it over, that is the point of the signature in the first place. But CJ is … well… her own person and she doesn't like to be questioned… and it wasn't meant to be a poke at her responsibility or choices or anything… just a parent doing due diligence."

"Mmmm"

"But… I still feel we kind of made this mess ourselves… we expected a lot of CJ and forced responsibility and independence on her… and now that she has taken it and run with it… we want to review it… and not that I think that isn't reasonable on the whole… I wonder if it was approached not quite right… and if this is what it is like before school even starts… what is it going to be like once it does? She is going to a much larger school and there isn't as much personal sort of interaction with the families… not that we were big at participating but we knew all of her teachers and the principal."

"Would you have known them as well if CJ wasn't…. CJ… and stayed out of trouble?"

"You're right… probably not…"

"What are you really worried about? That CJ doesn't need you anymore? That CJ is going to be in a large school and her antics could go undetected or that she could cause enough havoc to bring the institution down? That your little girl isn't little anymore and you missed it? That you aren't ready for her to be making her own decisions or that she isn't ready to make her own decisions?" Gibbs asked pointedly.

With his elbows resting on his knees and his hands hanging between his legs and his head down Tony sighed again. "I don't know… that's why I'm here I guess… I don't know what I have a problem with… but I have a problem with something… we all do…"

"I can't figure it out for you Tony"

"I know but you always ask the right questions." Smiling as he ran his hand through his hair.

The two men sat in silence for a long time as the older of the two worked steadily at his project and the younger shuffled back so that he was leaning against the wall watching and thinking. It was a great spot to think and if he needed clarification he could talk it through. Tony didn't leave until very late and by the time he left he felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

While Tony had been sitting on Gibb's basement stairs Ziva had been at home alone. After initially slamming the door to their room and storming around the room tidying like a mad woman she threw herself on the bed and sat their fighting the tears that threatened to fall. The frustration she was feeling was very profound. She had been part of the kidon unit of the Mossad. She had run numerous undercover operations, she had been an assassin, she had changed jobs and countries and she had done it with militaristic precision and lack of emotion. Yet here was a fourteen year old girl who could rattle her to the bone. She would lose control, yell and say things she regretted. How could her own daughter evoke this sort of response? And then it hit her, CJ was HER daughter. She was flesh and blood, not like Eli but someone she had an actually loving connection with. And it was this connection that caused the tension, emotion and outbursts. She smirked and half laughed as she made the connection and with this epiphany was able to pull herself together and return to the kitchen.

When she got there it was empty. Not just empty but abandoned, half eaten meals left on the plates and not a single person to be seen or heard. Ziva made her way to CJ's room to see if she was holed up there, but finding it empty surmised her daughter had taken refuge with her friend down the street as she had on many other occasions. While she cleaned the dining room and kitchen she reviewed the evening's conversation and came to the sad conclusion that CJ was growing up, and really was most of the way there. She could physically look after herself, knew what was necessary to run a household, had a grasp on what the 'world' was like and generally made decisions for herself. What affected Ziva the most was the fact that she felt that she had not been as much a part of her daughter's life as she had hoped to be. And that now was not the best time to try and increase her presence. Teenage girls didn't all of a sudden need their mothers more. Tears spilt from her eyes and this time she let them fall. She had made this bed, she just wasn't sure she wanted to sleep in it. But as she had determined only moments before it was the connection to her daughter that drove the emotion and so there was hope. They would weather the storms of adolescence together as a family and hopefully get through the other side intact and not too worse for wear.

Meanwhile CJ had found Steven in his garage oiling the chain on his bike. She sat up on the workbench and watched him work. What she couldn't know what how much her actions mirrored those of her father across town in her Uncle's basement. Steven having seen an irate CJ before knew to just keep working and she would talk when she was ready. He was moving onto brake maintenance when CJ finally began to explain the events of the evening and how she felt. She was most upset by the fact that she required a parental signature on a stupid form when really it was her life and her choice. She wasn't an idiot. And her parent's raised her to be independent but would claw that back whenever the whim seized them. Their involvement in specific things seemed random and intrusive to CJ.

Steven didn't say a word through her entire diatribe. When she had finally ranted herself out he asked if she wanted to go riding, pointing to their bikes. CJ smiled, jumped down off the workbench and threw her arms around her friend. "You know just want to say, don't you?" she laughed as she placed a peck on his cheek. CJ climbed aboard her bike and didn't notice the redness rise through Steven's neck and face.


	2. Chapter 2

The argument over course selection was not the only one the family participated in during the summer and the start of school grew ever closer the tension in the house was palpable. Ziva and Tony having sorted out the origins of their feelings and having rectified them between themselves were able to keep their tempers in control when CJ invariably blew up. CJ on the other hand hadn't resolved her feelings and this lead to more and more 'melt downs'. CJ was not an easy person to live with.

With only a week before the first day of classes Tony and Ziva were out of town on a case and CJ was hanging out at Gibbs' for the evening. She was in one her most surly of moods and Gibbs was slowly running out of patience for her sarcastic comments and inability to hold a proper conversation. Supper ended with CJ storming off to the living room and Gibbs' telling her to 'knock it off' before he too marched off. After he had spent an hour measuring, cutting and assembling he was calm enough to address the bundle of emotions that was his 'niece' sitting on the couch.

He entered the darkening living room to find CJ sitting on the couch feet resting on the coffee table in front of her. She was fidgeting with her ipod and her head was leaned back against the back of the sofa. Just looking at her you wouldn't know that she was a mess of emotions, sensations and thoughts. All fighting for her to process and come to terms with. Gibbs didn't know exactly what the problem was but having been a teen with conflicted feelings and no one he felt he could turn to he thought he understood a little bit at least. He could imagine the jumble that was CJ's brain. He sat beside her close enough that their shoulders were touching and placed his hand on her closest knee squeezing gently to get her attention. Her head snapped up and she opened her eyes and pulled her ear buds out in one motion.

"You wanna talk about whatever it is that is bothering you?" he asked very gently.

"Who said something was bothering me" she responded ever so quietly.

His smile, raised eyebrows and tilted head said it all.

Grimacing CJ replied "I've been that bad, huh?"

He only needed to nod to make her smile and exhale while she threw her head back against the sofa once again.

"I just feel…. I guess that's the problem… I don't know what this feeling is … or what to do about it… and I feel so angry so much of the time… not at anyone or anything specifically… just frustrated… ya… frustrated more than angry… but .. like … ALL the TIME… mom and dad are about to disown me aren't they?" she smiled her best DiNozzo smile.

"They are not going to disown you but I think if they had a dungeon they might lock you away for a while" he answered with a half smile.

Huffing he continued "CJ feeling like this is normal, it is part of growing up. But you can't take it out on those around you. Your parents can actually help you. They were kids once too you know. And really they had a much more difficult time. Remember that by your age they'd both lost their mother and neither of their father's were part of their day to day lives at least in the role of father. You are lucky. You have both parents caring for you, about you and wanting to help. But you have to let them."

Rolling her eyes she didn't say a word.

"I mean it CJ they do want to help."

"I KNOW" she yelled "I just… I just" and the tears streamed down her cheeks before she could get control.

Wrapping his arm around her he pulled her into him so that her head was resting on his chest. He hated seeing her like this, but really didn't know what the problem was.

"Everything is going to be alright. You are going to be fine. I just thought you should know that if you yelled a little less often it might be easier on everyone involved" giving her a little smirk.

"Thanks" was all she could say.

He flicked on the tv with the remote and sat holding her until she fell asleep watching some old black and white movie her father probably had introduced her to. He carefully extricated himself from underneath her and went to retrieve a blanket and pillow to make her more comfortable. She was now big enough it wasn't reasonable for him to carry her to the spare bedroom.

After their little talk CJ tried to keep her miserable mood to herself as best she could but was not perfectly successful. She received her class schedule in the mail and immediately went to Steven's to compare classes and teachers. They shared 2 of eight classes. That wasn't perfect but at least they were together for part of the day and they were on the same bus.

Day one arrived. Nerves outweighed excitement at least 10 to 1. CJ was up early, got showered and ate breakfast well before she needed to be. While she sat repacking her book bag for the thousandth time her father came in from his run. Seeing his normally well composed daughter go through this summer a mess made him feel inadequate and somewhat of a failure. What good was he if he couldn't make her feel better, have her believe everything was going to be alright. So as he saw the panic rise in her eyes he did the only thing he could think of. He walked over, kissed the top of her head and said "Good Luck… it's going to be just fine".

"Ya right, I'll believe that when I see it" came her sarcastic reply.

The sun was shining and it was quite warm so CJ left early for the bus and sat at the stop waiting for Steven. They were not the only ones to take the bus from this particular stop and so a small group had accumulated by the time the bus finally arrived. CJ and Steven took the only set of seats left where they could sit together. Steven's state of mind was no better than CJ's so together they sat in silence the bus drove them to their dreaded destination.

As they arrived at the school CJ's stomach gave a final lurch and the two friends stepped off the bus together and made their way up the front walk. The front of the building was awash with activity. A few obvious members of the football team were throwing a ball around. Another set of older students were playing ultimate frizbee on the front lawn. Many students of all shapes, sizes and ages were hanging out talking, sitting and leaning around various parts of the building and steps. The freshmen were easy to spot, they were the lost puppies wandering about not knowing where to go or how to get there. Luckily CJ and Steven didn't have to look lost for long before the morning bell rang and they were expected to find their way to first period class. They did not share this together and so as they parted ways in the front foyer with crowds of bustling students all around them they bumped fists and at the same time said "good luck to you".

Science was during 5th period, right before lunch, one of the classes Steven and CJ shared. As CJ entered the class to find Steven already seated having saved her a seat beside him she smiled widely. In all that was new and different today she could count on Steven; to pick the back right hand side of the class with a seat for her.

By lunch time the butterflies in CJ's stomach had moved on and the jittery feeling that had been building since June was finally subsiding. Things were going to be ok. By the final bell CJ had her smile back and even a little bounce in her step. The large school afforded an amount of anonymity that a smaller school would not and that meant that getting caught would be much less likely she the urge to pull a prank over take her.

As the last bell rang she met Steven in the front foyer and they both went out front to see if they could find their bus amongst the many parked along the street. The entire trip home the two friends discussed in detail their days, their classes, their teachers and the people they met. CJ was laughing while they walked home and realized how good it felt. She hadn't laughed in so long.

Opening the front door she was surprised to find her uncle already in the kitchen. Although he would be attending their celebratory first day of school dinner later on she hadn't expected anyone at home. She left her bag at the front door and entered the kitchen standing at the counter watching her uncle. She had her hands in her back pockets and she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Gibbs let a small smile cross his face. They had CJ back. She had a glint in her eye and literally a bounce in her step. This summer of nastiness had been about starting at a new school, high school and now that everything obviously had gone well she had unwound. He had expected as much but hadn't expected it so quickly.

"Had a good day did you?" he asked looking over the top of his newpaper.

"Yep, you?"

"Yes"

CJ made herself a snack, retrieved her bag and sat down next to him at the table. She got out her books and started her homework as she had lots and she knew once people arrived there wouldn't be any time.

The evening was pleasant and fun. They all shared Chinese takeout and stories of their first day of high school. The entire family was present even Jimmy was able to make it this year. By the time everyone left it was quite late and Ziva shoo'd CJ up to her room saying she would clean up the table as CJ needed to get into bed.

The first week of school was an eye opener for CJ. She had always been the ONLY practical jokester in her school but here there were many. She was astounded that so many pranks were pulled off and no one really seemed to care or make issue of it. It seemed to be part of the atmosphere. The tech wing hall had all the locks jammed with pencils. Anyone who had a locker in the music wing had their lock super glued shut and the janitor had to cut them all off. The statue of one of the president that was generally housed in the front foyer could be found in the most unusual of locations throughout the school. And there was even a cherry bomb set off in one of the boys bathrooms. And that was just week ONE. And CJ played no part in any of them. She needn't come up with anything on her own because the school was full without her participation.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next month or so CJ and Steven solidified their routine. Each morning they met at the bus stop where they were becoming good friends with a couple of the other passengers. Once at school they went their separate ways to morning classes and used fifth period science lab to get caught up on the gossip of the morning. In such a large school so much more happened. They ate lunch together with their bus mates and again parted ways for afternoon classes until last period where they shared English together. Mrs. Moretti did not appreciate the exchange of information in her class and so CJ and Steven caught up with events of the afternoon on the bus ride home.

They would then hang out in the DiNozzo kitchen eating snacks and doing their homework. Even though they didn't have the same teachers for subjects like geography and history they did have similar homework and projects.

Their social network grew over the first couple of months to include four guys: Owen, Drew, Atti, Avery and two girls: Ainsley and Ashley. By the time Halloween rolled around "The Gang" as Tony had taken to calling it hung out each Saturday night in the DiNozzo living room watching DVD's and playing cards.

Tony and Ziva both held their breath as Halloween Day came and went with no call from the school regarding CJ. When 16:00 rolled around and there was still no call they looked across the squad room at each other and the tension could be seen escape from their bodies.

It was late November before CJ started to think about a practical joke and really the only reason she did was she had to "fix" a bet she'd made. In science they had been studying membranes and osmosis and Mr. Van Arden had said that if you placed an egg in water it would gain weight as the water passed through the membrane and into the egg. CJ had disagreed and said that with all the minerals, floride, chlorine and such in city water that the egg would lose water therefore losing weight. Mr. Van Arden being a good sport said that they would set up the experiment and it was CJ's job to weigh the egg every few days and in a week they would see who was right. They had bet a nickel on the outcome.

The problem was when CJ got home and she and Steven researched it they found that Mr. Van Arden was right. CJ would lose the nickel bet. And then the idea occurred to her if while weighing the egg she switched for a smaller specimen then it would look as though it had lost water. Steven just shook his head as she described what she was going to do. He knew better than to try and talk her out of it. And as far as CJ pranks go it seemed very mild indeed. So that night they went through the fridge and looked for a smaller egg and so that it could not take on water she sprayed it with hair spray to clog the pores.

As if the angles of practical joking were looking out for CJ they had a supply teacher in science the next day so switching it was easy and she quickly disposed of the larger egg in the girl's bathroom garbage.

It was a full week later that Mr. Van Arden finally asked CJ to get out the egg and weigh it. With the entire class as witnesses CJ weighed the egg and of course it weighed less than at the beginning of the week. Mr. Van Arden was speechless, confused and wasn't sure how that could be possible. The whole class cheered and clapped as he handed over a nickel to CJ. CJ accepted the nickel and turning to the boisterous crowd took an over dramatic bow before returning to her seat. Steven could hardly contain himself knowing what CJ had done. As the class proceeded Mr. Van Arden tried to explain how that shouldn't have happened and tried to answer the questions of few students who like him were very confused.

CJ started to feel guilty, there were a few students in the class who were having difficulty grasping some of the concepts and this experiment not "turning out" had confused them further. The guilt niggled at her throughout the rest of the day and into the evening. Steven and Owen tried to convince that they would be fine, Mr. Van Arden was a good teacher and he would straighten them out.

Walking into science the following day CJ handed Mr. Van Arden a piece of paper and as the students entered and took their seats he unfolded the paper and started to read. He tried really hard to hide the smile and suppress the laugh but just wasn't successful. He looked at CJ and mouthed "Really?" and CJ nodded ever so slightly.

Steven watching this little interaction turned to his friend and asked "What did you do now?"

She whispered "I turned myself in" and when he shook his head in disgust she said "look I don't do guilt well". All he could do was laugh at his friend.

The class settled and waited for Mr. Van Arden to start the lesson instead he began "I would like to read you a little note CJ has left for me" and with that he read aloud the note she had written explaining how she had switched the eggs and how she had used hair spray to prevent the new egg from taking on water. She had taped both the nickel he had given her yesterday and another one as payment of the debt. Once he had finished reading he turned his attention to CJ.

"Miss DiNozzo what do you have to say for yourself?" he was trying with all his might to sound stern but it wasn't coming across that way at all.

CJ able to play into most situations stood to the side of her desk sort of at attention and through gritted teeth to try to keep from laughing out loud responded "I am very sorry sir for any confusion I may have caused."

"You are now are you?"

"Yes sir"

"Come here CJ" he said gesturing with his hand for her to join him at the front of the room as he picked up his pointer with the other.

As CJ made her way to the front of the room the entire class started "OOOOooooooooo" and some students were laughing. The air of the room was jovial as Mr. Van Arden asked CJ to hold out her hand. Because of the look in his eye and the smirk on his face CJ wasn't worried and did as she was told.

The class was still laughing as Mr. Van Arden drew back the pointer and let it fall quickly but lightly on CJ's outstretched palm. She felt it but it truly wasn't meant as a punishment. He repeated the action twice more before he was able to finally pull off a stern voice and say "CJ… do anything like that again and I won't be joking… you understand?"

Smiling her sweetest and most innocent of smiles CJ replied "Yes sir, I understand completely sir". He dismissed her with a tilt of his head and she made her way back to her desk. It took him several moments to regain control of the giggling crowd and finally began his lesson of the day.

Steven took great pleasure in recalling the story over the lunch table to 'the gang'. None of them had known CJ before this year and hadn't heard about her tendency to get herself into trouble. Drew asked how she'd come up with the idea and it was Steven who stepped in to explain about CJ's past. They laughed their way through lunch, gasping only at the lab explosion episode. It was Ainsley who asked "Why haven't you done anything until now? If that was what you did all the time why wait until November, you missed Halloween."

"I guess there were so many pranks going on in the halls around me I didn't feel the urge to do anything. The whole egg thing just "HAD" to be done… I just couldn't let it go by without doing something"

The bell rang and 'the gang' split to go to class. It wasn't until Saturday night in the DiNozzo living room that Avery made the suggestion that they 'the gang' should organize some prank before Christmas break. The idea was well accepted by all but Ashley and she was easily convinced by Steven who told her she could only resist so long so it would be easier if she just gave in now. So the evening turned into a lesson that CJ loving termed "Pranking 101" as she needed to set the rules. She made them all repeat after her "RULE #1 – never screw over your partner". She made sure each and every one of them understood what that meant and the implications. She also had Steven explain in great detail the punishments that were meted out when she had been caught in the past and that having never been caught this year she didn't know what to tell them to expect.

As they all left for home with instructions to think of a prank that they could all be part of and followed all the non destructive, non injuring rules Steven and CJ curled up together on the couch to laugh about the past and hypothesize about the future. CJ's back was against Steven's chest and her elbows were on his knees and every so often she would tip her head back to look up into his face. Over the past year he had gotten considerably taller than CJ and so this was possible. It was in one of these moments of CJ looking up into Steven's face that Tony entered the room. The sense of comfort, belonging and acceptance that these two shared was admirable and yet it terrified Tony. Steven was still a teenage boy and he felt that CJ didn't understand what was happening between them, or maybe she did and that thought scared Tony even more. What if she accepted this 'boy's' advances, what if?..."

Cleaning his throat to notify them of his arrival, Tony continued into the room and offered to walk Steven home as it was so late.

"No need Mr. DiNozzo, but thanks for the offer, that is really kind of you." Steven quickly answered, he had no interest being alone with CJ's dad, he saw how he looked at him.

Well if nothing else Tony thought he was very polite.

CJ leaned forward and the two stood slowly. "I'd best be going" Steven whispered and they bumped fists. Before he turned to leave CJ gently stroked his cheek. He almost tripped moving so quickly to get outside before anyone noticed his reaction to being touched… like that… by her.

Locking the door behind the retreating teen Tony quizzically said to his daughter "Steven's a nice kid" trying to elicit a specific response. All he got was CJ rolling her eyes before turning and heading to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

'The Gang' not having experience in the practical joking arena were not very good at coming up with ideas. So it was left to CJ. She decided that since there were 8 of them and each one had a different first period class they should set up each class first thing in the morning so that each of them had a turn to be present when the prank was 'played' out.

One of the decisions that Steven and CJ made together was that they would start out slow and build in complexity as they wanted to ease their rookie friends into the pranks. So first off was Ashley's class, she was the most nervous and so getting her turn over with would help her feel more comfortable and show her that things would be 'just fine'. CJ hoped they would be just fine.

Tuesday morning arrived and Ashley's classmates filed into the storage hall to retrieve their instruments. Each student reached for their case, grabbed their sheet music and made their way to their seats. The confusion started when they opened their cases and not one person found the correct instrument in their case. Not only that, any instrument that could be disassembled was and their parts strewn amongst the cases. A game of "do you have a part for my instrument" ensued and almost everybody played the game with a smile on their face and giggle in their chest. Ashley was astounded that something so simple could cause such puzzlement and make her feel so happy doing it.

At lunch time the mayhem that was first period for Ashley was all 'the gang' talked about. CJ had only ever had Steven as an accomplice and until now he was rather unwilling. Having 7 enthusiastic participants was more than CJ could ever have hoped for. Not only that there was little no response from the staff. It was just part of the culture, something to be expected and so there wasn't even a call for the guilty party to come forward. Being part of a very large school had its advantages.

CJ had History for her first period class and it was difficult to set anything up in the class as there was little in the room but black boards and desks. So for another "easy" start they copied a prank she had used the previous year in Mr. Gillis' class and on Friday when Mrs. Bolton entered her classroom she found each of the desks facing a different direction including her own. Mrs. Bolton left the desks as they were until the class arrived and suggested that instead of putting the desks back as they were they should rearrange the classroom. "It seems that someone is unhappy with our current set up, and I tend to agree we need a new point of view to keep the juices flowing." When it came time to explain to everyone at lunch they were all impressed at how Mrs. Bolton has been able to just go with the flow so to speak. CJ felt she needed to warn them that her response was not one that they could count on from other teachers in the same situation.

Now they had to decide whose turn it was next and what they were going to do. Owen had computer science first period and Avery said he could help set something up. Monday afternoon Avery said he had the little program ready to install, and on Tuesday morning all armed with flash drives 'the gang' entered the computer lab and quickly downloaded the files necessary onto each workstation. Once the task was completed they all headed out to their respective classes anticipating the stories that Owen would bring to the lunch table.

They were not disappointed. Owen described how each time someone hit the enter key a paintball splatter appeared in the middle of the screen and looked as though it was dripping down the monitor while a mechanical voice yelled "Got 'cha". After a few seconds it would disappear and the student would continue working to have it happen again when they hit the enter key. With an entire computer lab of 20 students working it was rather loud and took a while for the teacher to realize what was going. It then took most of the class to figure out how to delete the program and get it off of all the machines. Due to the fact that Owen hadn't written the program himself he was able to play the innocent well and easily stayed quiet when Mr. Merrill asked who was responsible. 'The gang' was impressed by how this practical joking worked and how much fun it added to the boring day to day routine of school. And so they were already discussing who was next and what they could do in that class.

The group had "upped" the stakes and it was still working out for them. There had been questions from the "authorities" so to speak but nothing more than a please come forward. CJ was also impressed with how the group was still happily participating including Steven. In the past he had always been hesitant to say the least and generally as things heated up he was the first to try and talk her out of it. Today he sat in the cafeteria suggesting his class be next in line.

Steven had PE first thing in the morning. There were so many things one could do with a storage locker full of equipment and a change room full of showers. They decided that it was easiest to focus on the change rooms and so it was actually Atti who came up with the idea of putting glue in the soap dispensers in the shower area. So Friday morning all the boys were in emptying the soap and refilling them. The girls hung out in the corridor as look outs. But because of the location of the change rooms no one walked by and they were all headed off to class within minutes. Steven had remembered his own supply of soap and told the other guys in the group that if things hadn't been sorted out by their class they could use his he'd leave it in his locker.

Steven vividly described the chaos and swearing that had occurred in the shower after PE that morning. And also a few stories from the basketball team as they had used the showers before class started. Guys with glue everywhere and the hot water making it stickier and messier trying to figure out why the soap wasn't working. Only a few people used the soap substitute before others offered their personal supply but it was enough that coach Jenson had a few words with the class. But having worked in teenage boy locker rooms for most of his career coach Jenson really didn't expect to find out who or why this switch had taken place and quickly moved on to solving the problem.

Over the next week leading up to the Christmas break each of the friends took a turn and they set up their class with some little prank. No one was caught and very little was even said about it by the teachers. They were getting a little more involved with each one and CJ was having fun orchestrating the group and who was doing what. And then it came to be Ainsley's turn. They had left her to last because she had science first. And to say that CJ had a bit of a problem with science labs and pranks was putting it mildly, so she had wanted to leave that one until last, until the day before vacation.

Ainsley had taken stock of what was available and CJ had looked up the "side effects" of the different substances. Silver Nitrate powder seemed to be the best option. It burned a bit if you held it but wasn't "dangerous" and would turn the victim's hands silver and then purple. So on the Friday before Christmas vacation 'the gang' entered the science area and while some people were look outs and others cleared a spot on the teacher's desk CJ and Ainsley retrieved the silver nitrate from the storage cabinet and sprinkled it lightly on the surface of the teachers work station. Ainsley left the room so that she would enter with the rest of her class. CJ and the others dispersed and went their merry ways, waiting for the stories at lunch hour. Unlike Ashley, Ainsley was not faint of heart and could hold her own in any situation so when she got to the cafeteria and looked shaken and a pit pale, CJ started worrying immediately.

"What happened?" everyone asked all at once excitedly except CJ who was very serious indeed.

When Ainsley didn't answer immediately, CJ shushed the group and asked again very gently making sure to keep eye contact with her friend "What happened?"

Sitting down in a daze she began to explain how Mr. Hu had entered the class and seeing that his desk was cleared and that something was all over the desk he carefully wiped it with a cloth and began by smelling the offending powder. But that is when things went terribly wrong. He sneezed and blew the powder ALL over including into his eyes. Being a chemistry teacher for over a decade made him aware that he needed to quickly get to the eye wash station and on his way there tripped over his stool. It was just one horrible thing after another. In the end he ended up with a no permanent issues with his eyes but had to go to the local hospital to get stitches across his cheek for the fall with the stool. They were looking for the culprits and were hoping that whoever it was would come forward.

The gang discussed it. No one was to say a word. No one knew it was them and with 2000 kids in the school no one would look to a quiet group of sophomores and freshmen as those responsible. CJ may have been able to convince the rest of them that all was well, but her heart still raced and she still had a hard time concentrating all afternoon. Steven knew her well enough that in English class that afternoon she was distracted and unable to participate he fielded all enquiries and took notes as necessary.

The bus ride home was a quiet affair because CJ didn't want to get Ashley or Atti worked up over something she had convinced them was "NO PROBLEM". But as soon as Steven and CJ's feet hit the pavement CJ started talking a mile a minute. It was a two way conversation and they concluded by the time they were sitting at the kitchen table snack in hand, and Christmas Break homework in front of them, that there truly was no possibility of being found out and that they just needed to lay low for a while. They would enjoy their two week vacation and return to class rejuvenated and without guilt.

'The gang' met several times over the holiday and on one such occasion spent a great deal of time discussing the pranks, the outcomes and should they try again in the new year. It was friendly but heated debate and one that got loud enough to bring Tony to the entrance of the living room.

"Hey" he called in, silencing them very quickly. CJ had tried to persuade her friends that her father was not scary but his authoritative tone, large size and the fact he carried a gun did little to prove her point. And so when he raised his voice to get their attention they responded immediately.

"What is all the racket about?" he had heard the words practical joke and prank in the sociable argument and was here for both crowd control and information gathering purposes.

"Nothing you need to worry about." CJ responded sarcastically.

Tony gave his best 'you'd better watch it young lady' look and waited until her posture changed from aggressive to compliant.

The deafening silence reined in the living room until Tony's footsteps could no longer be heard.

"Oooooo" everyone goaded CJ, everyone except Steven. Rolling her eyes, CJ huffed "Knock it off you guys, you only think what you're thinking because you're terrified of him" Thumbing in the direction her father had just retreated.

"Are NOT" several of them chanted in unison.

"Whatever" was CJ's retort as she rolled her eyes for a second time. "But I would suggest that we keep the volume down when discussing school pranks, I would say my dad would not think too highly of such conversations."

Only Steven gave a knowing laugh.

Before school started again in January Tony had made a point of discussing pranks with his daughter. She had been dismissive and said "Dad… do you know how many pranks get pulled each day? Do you really have any clue? You could write a list on a daily basis, a list, do you understand?" Tony decided to drop the current enquiries as CJ really did seem to have moved onto other recreational pursuits. Little did he know she had a whole new set of recruits to help her out.


	5. Chapter 5

January was a time of hard work, revision and mid terms. Freshman and Sophomore years had midterms and Juniors and Seniors had finals. So the overall atmosphere was one that had a somewhat serious tenor. And so although the group of friends had decided that they would continue with their practical joking they chose to wait until it would be better accepted, and CJ made a new rule, NEVER use a science lab for a prank. She was sure Gibbs didn't have such a rule but she only used his when they suited her purpose. And so to prevent further catastrophes and minimize the likelihood that they would be caught she needed to make sure all science labs were off limits.

When exams were finally over Owen was the first one to bring up the fact that they should 'do' something else. And so the group made up a short list of pranks, classes they worked in or if they would be better to do to the school at large. This is how pranking became part of the school routine. Once a week they would accumulate supplies if necessary, chose a class, prank and day of the week and before classes began they would set things up. By spring break CJ didn't need to help orchestrate the events and the individuals would organize their own ideas.

Spring Break was spent in the DiNozzo living room. Ziva had questioned why always their living room. Why couldn't they go to someone else's place, just once. It was Tony that set her straight. We have the nicest home theater system and really do you want CJ somewhere else. Here we can sort of keep an eye on what she is doing and we always know where she is. Leave it, they are a good group of kids, better behaved then I was at that age, and really their good behavior seems to have rubbed off on CJ he explained. Quickly seeing her husband's point Ziva didn't question the meeting location again.

Before school resumed there were several instances where CJ and Steven were alone watching movies and Tony along with Ziva made sure to 'drop in' to check on how they were doing and if they needed another snack or soda. CJ wasn't stupid and knew exactly what they were playing at. Jeez she thought to herself. Are they stupid? If something is going to happen it won't happen when they are in the next room or when they're home. But she kept quiet and let them feel like they were doing their parental duty in chaperoning the two friends.

It was not unusual to see the two with their arm around each other or sharing a hug but that was as far as it went. Although they would not be technically considered "going out" it was pretty evident they were a couple, even if they didn't admit it to themselves.

Classes resumed and so did 'the gang's' onslaught of pranks. They were minor tricks that were lost amongst the crowd and busyness of the school. The gang had grown close and was very tight knit crew by the time the school year was rounding out. CJ had never been comfortable in a larger group and even though she had had friends other than Steven they had never done things together as a team. She was enjoying the social aspect of high school much more than she would have thought possible.

Routine took over and the school year passed quickly and relatively quietly. They set up a joke or prank at least once a week and sometimes more often if they had a "good" idea. Not once were they caught, implicated or tracked down. The last week of classes arrived and with it the last opportunity of the year to have a little fun. Exams were run outside of regular classes and you only came to school at your allotted time. So they were quickly running out of opportunities for the "big" prank of the year. CJ's only concern was picking an appropriate prank. She didn't want to outdo the Seniors and she didn't want to get caught since she'd gone all year with no one being any the wiser to her antics.

The high school they attended had a good sports department and that year many of the teams had won their championship and their new pennants hung in the front foyer. Seeing all of them hanging there and thinking about Steven's access to the equipment CJ came up with a good plan. The first thing they needed to do was remove the pennants and hide them until everything was collected. This was the most difficult as the front foyer was often busy. Using a stink bomb Atti was able to clear the area and 'the gang' made short work of retrieving what they needed. Then they slowly over a few days got a uniform from each of the winning teams. Finally they collected balls and equipment required to play the sport.

As things disappeared there were announcements about returning things to their appropriate places. But nothing serious and no full scale search was mounted. Thank goodness as the small group had hidden the needed artifacts in their own lockers as no one wanted to chance taking things home.

On the last day of real classes the student body arrived to find several mannequins from the home ec department lined up along the edge of the student parking lot. Each one dressed in a winning team uniform complete with equipment. And beside each mannequin was the pennants attached to a stake in the ground.

The students loved it. They were taking pictures with them all day. The teams that had a mannequin set up in their "honor" came as a group and had their photos taken. The staff didn't "clean up" the mess until school was almost over. CJ and the gang made sure to have their picture taken with the sports displays. There was no appeal for the culprits to turn themselves in, everyone was too happy with the outcome for that to happen.

As Steven and CJ got on the bus for the last time as freshmen CJ looked over her shoulder and smiled; a year ago she had walked through those doors an emotional mess. Today she left them with confidence, a great group of friends and wonderful memories of a year of pranks. And to top it off she'd made it all year without ever having seen the inside of the front office.


End file.
